Santarem – Where The Amazon Meets The Tapajos

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Santarem is a major port on the Amazon River and most people who are doing the 5 day trip between Manaus and Belem will spend at least a few hours here but it’s worth stopping off for a few days.  It’s easier to get here than you may think despite the few choices you have.

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You can easily get to Manaus with miles.  From there, depending on when you travel, you may be able to get all the way to Santarem with miles.  TAM is the variable.  Until mid 2014, it will be a member of Star Alliance, then it will be joining OneWorld along with it’s new partner as LATAM.

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WHERE TO STAY

We arrived in Santarem by boat from Itaituba which is the opposite direction you will be traveling in if you fly in from the USA.  The boat arrived around 9pm-ish and I had a list of hotels that had been recommended by Lonely Planet and Rough Guides.  We grabbed a taxi at the dock and asked to go to one of them.  The driver obliged but it looked deserted.  The next one I asked for was also deserted.  Not looking good!  We drove around the corner and stopped at  the Sandis Hotel which had not been in any of my guidebooks.  I asked the driver to wait while I ran in and checked the price.  It was cheap enough and looked brand new so Sandis it was!   Room was clean, the breakfast was included and pretty good and I loved the bird artwork on the walls in the lobby!  The location is great, walking distance to al the most interesting places in town, several restaurants are nearby.

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Trip Advisor has a few other hotels listed, make sure the reviews are recent or you may find the hotel has closed down!  Those staying longer may prefer to take a bus to Alter do Chao.  Everyone seems to love this Amazon-style beach resort town and if our itinerary hadn’t been so jam-packed with birding excursions, we probably would have spent a couple days here for R&R.  Gil Serique lives in Alter do Chao so it’s a good idea to contact him if you plan to visit.

WHERE TO EAT

Brazil has these really cool restaurants where you load up your plate and pay by the kilogram.  Piracaia came highly recommended and we weren’t disappointed with our lunch here.

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WHAT TO DO AND SEE

The sights of Santarem can be easily seen in one day which is great if you are just making a connection to or from Amazonia National Park or other ports along the Amazon.  It’s a pleasant town to walk around and most of what you want to see is either along the corniche or within a couple of blocks.

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No prizes for guessing why I love the phone booths here!

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There are a few souvenir shops along the corniche, a pedestrian shopping street and a local market where you can buy hammocks.  I really wanted one of those large vases with a macaw n it but didn’t think I could get it home in one piece!

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The Museu Dica Frazao has some stunning costumes inside.  Entry is by donation and some items are for sale but that pretty fan I wanted was unfortunately not one of them.  There are some very sad forlorn looking pet parrots in the garden, how I wish I could have set them free in the national park!

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MOVING ON

The airport is about an hour by local bus.  We had a flight in the wee hours to Belem and ended up hanging around the airport all night because we caught the last bus out there and had nothing better to do anyways.  If you’re stuck, there is a space under the staircase that goes up to the cafe.  We camped out for a few hours using our backpacks as pillows and sarongs for sheets.

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Manaus – Gateway To The Amazon

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Look at Manaus on Google’s satellite map and it looks like it’s smack dab in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.  Geographically it is, but in reality it’s a large city many miles away from where eco-tourists would want to be.

Manaus

Manaus

The best thing about Manaus is that you can easily get there using miles and from there it’s an easy domestic flight to more interesting places or an adventurous boat down the river.  Bear in mind that the Amazon river is huge and you won’t see much from a river boat, you need to get off into a tributary.  I’ve already discussed getting to Brazil using miles and you can see all the mileage costs for my top 8 recommended programs.  Let’s look at getting to Manaus in particular.

ONE WORLD

American has a daily non-stop flight from Miami.  This flight is a bargain 12,500 Avios one way or 25,000 round trip and can be booked online at British Airways.  Using AA miles starts at 20,000 one way but you can travel from anywhere in the USA whereas using Avios is only a bargain if you start from Miami.

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In mid 2014, TAM will be leaving Star Alliance and joining OneWorld so that opens up a few more options too.

STAR ALLIANCE

Copa flies to Manaus from Panama City daily with good connections from the rest of the USA.  A sample itinerary might look something like this.

WHERE TO STAY

As you can see, most flights arrive at night so you will probably need at least an overnight hotel.  There are a couple of options if you have points with Priority Club or Choice Rewards, otherwise I recommend using Pointshound * to book an independent hotel and earn miles in your preferred frequent flier program.
* I don’t have any special affiliate relationship with Pointshound.  This link is the same one all members have access to.  If you use my link, both you and I get 250 miles when you book your first room.  Once you are a member, you will get a link of your own to use for referrals.

Holiday Inn Manaus – 15,000 points.

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Choice has 3 properties but they aren’t real bargains as they start at 16,000 points but could be useful if you have lots of Choice Rewards points you can burn.

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Pointshound actually has more hotels than this but I am just going to show you a snippet so you can see how many miles you earn if you book through Pointshound.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN MANAUS

If you want to spend a couple of days here or have to organize a stay at a jungle lodge, you will find plenty to keep you occupied.  Out of these sights recommended on Trip Advisor, I have been to the Teatro Amazonas, Meeting of the Waters and the market.  My trip was back in 1989 so I don’t have digital photos I can upload.  I wasn’t as keen on eco-tourism back then and was doing the usual backpacker trip down the river.  I bought a hammock in the market, booked space on a boat, tied up my hammock and had a 5 day adventure down the Amazon River!  I was disappointed the river is so wide, you really can’t see any animals from the boat though there may be birds flying overhead if you are lucky.  Since my trip was so long ago, I am really just offering advice on using Manaus as a gateway to the eco-lodges I will be writing about later.

MOVING ON

Our ultimate goal for this trip I am currently blogging about is Itaituba.  You will need to connect in Santarem, then either fly, take a speedboat or bus to Itaituba.  So here’s the flight schedule to Santarem and come back tomorrow for the information on this small city on the junction of the Amazon and Tapajos Rivers.

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Welcome Million Miles Secrets Readers!

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A big thank you to Daraius for interviewing me and giving me a chance to show more people what this blog is all about!

You probably already figured out that I am crazy about birds and travel twice a year all over the world to see them in their natural habitats.  I wouldn’t be able to do this without the carefully planned use of miles and points.  Since I like to stay in eco-lodges located in areas rich in wildlife, I use hotel points mostly for stays at international gateway cities.  Miles are much more important to me and I have a list of programs which I recommend to beginners who come to this site on searches of bird species.  When I review an airline or hotel program, I highlight the best uses for eco-tourists so this is not the blog you want to read if the Hyatt Regency Paris or Tokyo is your dream.  However, if you want to stay at the world’s cheapest overwater bungalow – read on!

Even if you are not keen about traipsing off into the bush, you may find yourself in a city that has a good walk-in aviary.  I have a new series on Eco-Lite Mini-Trips which highlight these.  They’re great places to take your families on a weekend or get away from the hustle and bustle of a city and spend a few hours communing with nature.  I try to choose places that are contributing to conservation so you know your entrance fee is going to a good cause!

Credit cards are one way of getting miles and points.  I do not have any affiliate relationships with any credit card providers and my content is original and not influenced by any credit card provider.  I have only provided a very basic list of what cards go with what airlines (airline’s websites) with international versions of each and where to find more information on FlyerTalk.  If you are interested in the latest credit card deals, there are other blogs such as Million Mile Secrets that cover this subject in more depth.

Eco-tourism can take you to many exotic lands and you don’t have to spend ALL your time out in the rainforests.  So far I have covered places in Peru, Tasmania, The Cook Islands, Kerala, West Papua and am now in the process of blogging about the Amazon region of Brazil.

Miles to the Wild is not meant to be a one-stop miles and points blog but one that gives an extra dimension to how you can use your miles and points to get back to nature, see some stunning wild birds and animals and contribute to conservation!

I have an RSS feed and you can also subscribe to my posts in the form to the right.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments either here or on a specific post that you would like more information about.

Eco-Lite: Emilio Goeldi Museum and Zoo, Belem

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Welcome to our next Eco-Lite Mini-Trip which features the Emilio Goeldi Museum and Zoo in Belem, Brazil.  You may find yourself in Belem before or after a visit to the Amazon region and this is a great place to spend a morning getting to see some gorgeous birds close up and be better prepared to identify them in the wild.

OVERVIEW

Their website is in Portuguese and I didn’t like the way Google Translate was handling it so I grabbed some information off Wikipedia.

The Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi is a Brazilian research institution and museum located in the city of Belém, state of Pará. It was founded in 1866 by Domingos Soares Ferreira Penna as the Pará Museum of Natural History and Ethnography, and was later named in honor of Swiss naturalist Émil August Goeldi, who reorganized the institution and was its director from 1894 to 1905. It is open to the public from 9:00 to 17:00 h, daily except Mondays.

The institution has the mission of researching, cataloging and analyzing the biological and sociocultural diversity of the Amazon Basin, contributing to its cultural memory and its regional development. It has also the aim of increasing public awareness of science in the Amazon by means of its museums, botanical garden, zoological park, etc.

The Museum maintains a scientific research station in the high Amazon forest (Estação Científica Ferreira Penna), which was inaugurated in 1993, with 330 km² in the Caxiuanã National Forest, municipality of Melgaço, Pará.

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

It’s pretty much in the middle of Belem.  We were staying at the Crowne Plaza and took a bus but taxis aren’t too expensive.  Figure on $10 from most major hotels.

Location of Emilio Goeldi Museum and Zoo

HOW MUCH IS IT?

A bargain R$ 2.00 which is around $1 USD.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SPEND THERE AND WHAT SHOULD YOU SEE?

We spend several hours in here as I was trying to get better photos of the birds I had seen in the wild.  There are also some Green-wing Macaws free-flying around the grounds.  The aviaries are large and well planted and it’s worth just sitting and relaxing and watching the various birds.  There are several Golden Conures, many of whom were rescued from poachers.  The grounds are beautiful and a pleasure to walk around.

VALUE TO CONSERVATION

They have several projects going on which you can read about on their website.  The Museum maintains a scientific research station in the high Amazon forest (Estação Científica Ferreira Penna), which was inaugurated in 1993, with 330 km² in the Caxiuanã National Forest, municipality of Melgaço, Pará.

WHERE TO STAY NEARBY ON POINTS

IHG GROUP

Crowne Plaza Belem – 20,000 points.  We stayed here, it’s a good mid-range property with a good central location.  Breakfast buffet is excellent.  I have seen this hotel on Pointbreaks for 5000 points a couple times so keep checking!

Holiday Inn Express Belem-Ananindeua – Not yet open but I suspect it will be either 10,000 – 15,000 points.  Location is terrible, I would choose the Crowne Plaza anyways.

HILTON HONORS

Hilton Belem – 30,000 points.  Location is excellent, right across the street from Praca Republica which has flocks of wild parrots visiting in the mornings and afternoons.

CLUB CARLSON

Radisson Hotel Maiorana Belem – 44,000 points.  Don’t forget that credit card holders get 1 award night free when two or more award nights are booked!  Location is good, central and walking distance to Praca Republica.

PHOTOS

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Bus Travel Between Mato Grosso & The Amazon

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Although flights on major routes can now be bought online at reasonable prices, there are times you will need to use the bus when moving from one eco-tourism hotspot to another.  Let’s have a look at BR-163, the only route between Mato Grosso (Pantanal, Alta Floresta for Cristalino) and Itaituba (jumping off point for Amazonia National Park).  I have highlighted in yellow these cities on the map below.  The “A” shows the location of Guarantã do Norte which is the boarding point for the bus headed north to Itaituba or where you will change buses if heading in the opposite direction.

Mato Grosso to Itaituba

This route is operated by a bus company –  Verde Transportes.  Their website is only in Portuguese so I will walk you through how to use it to get information and possibly even book a ticket online.  The online booking wasn’t open to foreigners last year when we were there so we bought all our tickets at their kiosk in the Cuiaba terminal.  We took several buses:  Cuiaba-Alta Floresta, Alta Floresta-Novo Sta Helena, Novo Sta Helena-Guarantã do Norte and finally the 20 hour bus trip to Itaituba.  They take credit cards at the kiosk and can book all your tickets and issue them right there.

Somente Ida is “One way”.

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You will be redirected to Net Viagem.  You can see there is only one bus on the date I asked for that leaves at 20:00 (8pm) and it costs Brazilian Reis R$ 143.90 which is about $70 USD.  Tick the radio button below “selecione” and hit “comprar”.

Net Viagem

You will see which seats are available.  If they are accepting foreign credit cards, at this point choose a seat and hit “comprar”.

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You won’t have an account so click the radio button with the red arrow, put your real email and make up a number for the CEP.  Then hit “Prosseguir”.

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It won’t like your fake CEP and you will see this screen.  Hit “Fechar” to get rid of it.

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Hit the “Foreign” radio button and you will get rid of the Brazilian fields and have more international fields to fill in.  I made up some info for the screenshot, you would be putting in real info.

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You will have 2 blue buttons to hit on the following screens and then you get a purchase screen.

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Hit “sim” on this screen.

This is the final screen.  Theoretically you should be able to pay with a Visa or Mastercard.  I would suggest calling your bank to warn them to expect an online transaction from Brazil so they don’t think it’s fraud.

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Hopefully you will have an e-ticket to print out and bring on the bus.  Otherwise you will have to do as I did and buy the ticket there.  I think you will have to do each leg of a multi-segment trip individually.  Make sure there is availability on each leg before buying anything.

Here are some photos of our 3 leg journey from Alta Floresta to Itaituba.  These are not the deluxe executive buses you see on the bigger routes but they are OK.  At the time of our trip, the road wasn’t paved after Novo Progresso but this may change by the time you do your trip.  The bus doesn’t have a toilet but will stop every few hours at a road side cafe where you can get food and use the facilities.  None of the buses we took were full so we were able to grab a set of 2 seats each and spread out a bit.  We managed to get a bit of sleep and arrived in Itaituba around 4pm.  Actually the bus will drop you at the river (Miritaituba) and you take a ferry across which is free.

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Avifauna Brasileira – Guia De Campo Avis Brasilis

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Avifauna Brasileira: Guia De Campo Avis Brasilis: The Avis Brasilis Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil by Tomas Sigrist is arguably the definitive guide to the birds of Brazil.   I probably never would have heard of this book if my guide, Gilberto didn’t have a copy.  It’s what he would use to communicate to me which species we had seen during the day as he doesn’t speak English.  It’s an excellent field guide and has the names of the birds in Portuguese, English and the scientific names.  After I left Urua, I checked a bookstore in Belem with no luck.  Surely I would find it in Sao Paulo where we had a day layover?  Nope, nada!  One bookstore checked all their branches by computer and no one had it.  Either it’s VERY popular or out of print.

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I struck out with my usual port of call for books – Amazon.com.  It’s not that they don’t have the book but I think $375 for a used copy is a bit too much! Just for fun, I Googled it again last week and found a copy at a more reasonably price through a British company which specializes in books on science and nature:  NHBS.  It’s still not cheap and I paid for express shopping to make sure it didn’t get lost but it’s an investment that a keen birder will use over and over again so I felt it was worth it.  The service was excellent and the book showed up in Australia in about 5 days including a weekend so I can recommend this company.  The listing is here and they also have some sample pages.  It comes in 2 volumes, one has the pictures of the birds and the maps where they are found; the other book contains a short paragraph about each bird in both English and Portuguese.

Sample page showing ranges of birds

Sample page of bird pictures

Sample page of text (Portuguese). The book also has English text>

Philippine Airlines Monday Madness Sale

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HT:  UPGRD Blog

The Philipines has much to offer eco-tourists, especially birders and now it’s cheaper to get there.  UPGRD has the details on their blog and the fares between Australia and Manila look pretty good!  The YQ’s are a bit high but I priced out a sample and it was less than the website says.  The domestic flights look like a good deal but I was disappointed that they don’t offer Manila – Puerto Princessa (Palawan) which is home to the rare Katala Philippine Cockatoo which I got to see in Sept 2010.  They will be changing the offers every week so check back as you could get lucky next time!

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Domestic Flights Within Brazil – Azul Airlines

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Last year when we did our trip, we would have been flying on Trip Airlines if we hadn’t chosen to take the bus to certain eco-tourism hotspots such as Alta Floresta and Itaituba.  Now, Trip has merged with Azul Airlines.  It’s become much easier to book on them as they now have a foreigner’s booking mode.  The old Trip Airlines didn’t accept non-Brazilian credit cards.  Click on the US flag for an English version.  I have highlighed in yellow some airports that would be of interest to eco-tourists.  Sorry no frequent flyer program but at least the fares aren’t expensive!

Azul Airlines

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I will use Cuiaba to Alta Floresta for this example since it’s a popular way to get to the amazing Cristalino Jungle Lodge. The mid-day flight costs a bit more but the Cristalino folks will pick you up at the airport and take you straight to the lodge.  If you take the cheaper night flight, you will require an overnight stay at Floresta Amazonica Hotel which is still a really nice place and one of the easiest places to see Crimson-bellied Conures and a Harpy Eagle family.

Choose your flight and the full price with tax will appear to the right,

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Note the pop-up that tells you the English website takes only non-Brazilian credit cards.  The rest of the procedure is like any other airline.  Fill in your details, credit card, pay and you’re off!

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A Field Guide To The Birds Of Brazil

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I always advise bringing a birding field guide with you to help you identify the birds you see.  Your guides will know the birds but especially in Brazil, they may not speak English……….but they can definitely point to the right photo in the book.  This guide is very comprehensive and covers birds from the whole country.  Some of the reviewers feel the book is a bit heavy to carry but most of them were happy with the quality of the guide.  This is my affiliate link, I do appreciate your support if you use it to click through for any of your Amazon purchases.

Birding Rally Challenge 2013 North Amazon

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Dates have been announced for the 2013 Birding Rally Challenge which will take place in the North Amazon 9-20 June.

Birding Rally Challenge 2013

Location

Here’s a video clip of last year’s results.  We will keep you posted on this year’s challenge as we hear more news.  I admire the creative way they are attracting more birders to Peru and boosting eco-tourism but I am not entirely sold on the competitive aspect.  Peru is one of the top 12 countries for parrot populations.